Andrew von Dadelszen Former Regional Councillor

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is soon to release its second generation Regional Policy Statement (RPS), after a long process of development, submissions from ratepayers, and review.

The cost of this process is in the millions (especially once it gets appealed to the Environment Court – my recollection is that the Waikato RPS has cost more than $8m), so you would hope that the final document is robust and adds value.

My concerns (and I submitted on this) included the proposal to tie housing density to the ‘Urban Form & Growth' section of the proposed RPS. I commented that this is far too inflexible and this responsibility should remain with the territorial authorities. I believe that while the regional council has loosened this requirement somewhat, the overall density of 15 households per hectare has been retained. I also note that Bob Clarkson seems to have found a majority of support from Tauranga City councillors for his 'affordable housing” development at Tauriko, but my understanding is that the regional council will over-ride this through its revamped RPS, which won't allow any plan changes within two years of the determination of this plan. I ask you: who knows best for Tauranga? City councillors (all of whom live within the city), or regional councillors (with only four out of 13 living in Tauranga).

Another area of concern is 'Objective 30: Protection and management of versatile land”. I support the thrust of this objective, but remain concerned that the proposed RPS is a little prescriptive regarding 'versatile land”. An example of this ‘flawed thinking' that is encouraging subdivision on some of the Western Bay's steeper land – as on the Minden Hill. Western Bay of Plenty District Council's decision to allow increased subdivision in this area, if not done discreetly and with caution, could well result in subsidence, resulting in increased sedimentation into the Tauranga Harbour. This is the last thing that we need – the harbour is the Western Bay's jewel, and we need to restore it, not further denigrate it.

These are two examples where the RPS might be either too prescriptive, or not enough.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me at [email protected] or visit www.vond.co.nz